Western Australia’s iron ore exports disrupted by cyclone

A cyclone is headed for Australia’s northwestern iron ore ports, forcing them to shut down and producers to make new arrangements for transporting their product.

According to Bloomberg, ports Dampier and Hedland have already closed.

Miners exporting from these ports include BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and Rio Tinto.

BHP has “commenced preparations to secure port and rail infrastructure,” Bloomberg reports.

Tropical cyclone Christine – a category 2 storm – is expected to bring destructive winds, rainfall and storm tides. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that the storm will likely intensify throughout Monday.

Western Australia – the world’s biggest iron ore exporter – is no stranger to these intense storms. The Pilbara region, which ships almost half of global iron ore supplies, experiences more cyclones than any other part of Australia.

This will be port Dampier’s and Hedland’s second closures this year after cyclone Rusty ripped through the region in February.